


Compulsion

by angel1876



Series: Science With Gaster [3]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anxiety, Broken Bones, Evil!Gaster, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Medical Examination, Medical Experimentation, Medical Procedures, Multiverse, Rape/Non-con Elements, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader has feminine parts but is not referred to by gender, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-11 22:17:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 14
Words: 22,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5643868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angel1876/pseuds/angel1876
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gaster missed one of the appointments he made with you. You seek him out to make sure he's okay and to ask him what happened, but something's wrong.<br/>He's Gaster, but he isn't your version of him. And worse, he has no problem with the darker side of scientific exploration.</p><p>Note: This isn't straight up smut. There is a plot involved.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Something's wrong

**Author's Note:**

> A sort of sister fic to Facination, before the incident with the core. It isn't important to read it first or anything, but it does give this story context, as I'm using the same reader character. A 'what if' story where the kind and caring doctor is replaced with a less moral version of himself from another universe.

You glanced at the clock with a frown. Another five minutes and he'd be a full half hour late. Maybe his work had caught up to him, but typically he'd at least send someone to pass on the message that he was running behind. You were trying not to worry, but his absence was starting to nag at you. Maybe he forgot, you tried to tell yourself, but you couldn't believe that. He'd been looking forward to the next test for several days, had mentioned more than once how happy he was you'd agreed to it. It wasn't something he would have just forgotten.

At the forty minute mark, you left your room and made your way to his office. It was fine if he couldn't work with you at the moment, all you wanted was to know he was okay. It was possible he had asked someone to send you a message and they themself had forgotten, pulled away by some other project that demanded their attention.

The door to his office was closed, but not locked, which meant he was inside. He wouldn't have been able to hear anyone if they knocked, so you went ahead and opened it. He stood there in the corner, a mess of papers scattered about the counter in front of him. You stepped through the door, intending to touch his shoulder to get his attention, but he turned to face you the moment you moved.

"My apologies, I'm afraid I'm a bit busy right at the mo- oh." He stopped, his head cocked just slightly to one side. The blue and orange flames in his sockets darted down to your feet then back up to your face, taking you in all in one glance. "On second thought...I have a few moments to spare. Come in. Make sure you close the door behind you."

You did so, letting out a small sigh of relief as you drew closer. "Sorry to interrupt. I thought we were doing the weight test today? But-but I understand if you want to set it for later. There's always tomorrow, right?"

He set his papers aside and approached himself, meeting you in the center of the room. A hand raised to curl under your chin and tilt your head back. His eyes flared, much brighter than you'd ever seen them before, and a smile crossed your face. He was in a good mood today.

"No need, human." he said, a thumb tracing along the joint that connected your upper and lower jaw. "I'd very much like to preform a few experiments with you. Although, I don't think I'm ready for anything concerning weight just yet. There are certain things I'd like to learn from you, first."

"Oh. Okay then." You wouldn't claim to understand all the variables that went into his work. This wasn't the first time he'd had to step back and go over something basic before moving on to his more involved tests. "What do you wanna know?"

His voice lowered, a slight darkness creeping into his otherwise pleasant tone. "Everything."

The lights glowing in his sockets turned a brilliant, emerald green, and then his hands were everywhere. Transparent but solid, several pairs appeared and grabbed onto each of your limbs, their grip firm but not quite harsh. With no effort on his part, he half carried, half dragged you toward the examination table.

"Um, Gas-Gaster?" You started at first, the sudden movement felt like you were going to fall over, but he didn't let you hit the ground. There was nothing close enough for you to reach for, so your arms just kind of hovered in front of you before you lowered them, relaxing as you realized the floor wasn't about to rush up to hit your face. Well, this was different. He always asked first before he did anything like this.

The hands lifted you up and sat you on the table, before setting right to pulling your shirt off. You would have moved your arms for him to make it easier, but he kept tight hold of your wrists, lifting them himself. A small frown formed when he dropped it in a messy pile in the corner. It wasn't as if you were upset about the shirt specifically, it was the fact he was starting to worry you all over again with his odd behavior. Your pants went next, and were likewise tossed aside without care.

His attention drifted down to the bare skin on your chest, his interest clear, although he'd already seen what you looked like under your clothes several times over. You tried to raise a hand to get his attention, but he had your arms pinned to your sides, keeping you still. You spoke anyway, hoping that the movement of your mouth would be enough to make him look up.

"Gaster, are you okay?"

His eyes met yours, his gaze burning. "Of course, human. Do not worry for my sake."

One of his hands ghosted through your hair, stroking from the top of your head to the base of your skull. He gripped the back of your neck, fingers rubbing at the tendons on either side. With one of his real hands, he reached into the pocket of his lab coat, and pulled out a small black and grey device. He pressed a button on the side, and spoke again, clear and precise with the machine held close to his mouth. "Entry number two. I just came across the biggest difference in the timeline I've seen thus far. There's a human in my lab."

"Gaster?"

"Be quiet, please." One of the hands clamped over your mouth.

"I'm going to put my current exploration on hold, and put my focus on them. If there is time, I will continue my previous activities, but for the moment, they deserve my full attention." He pushed another button, and the hand let go. "I ask that you refrain from interrupting my recordings, human. Too much background noise will make it difficult to go over later."

"Why are you using a recorder?" It came out a higher pitch than you'd intended. A pair of his hands ran over your arms, trailing down to the wrist, pausing at the elbows to bend them inward, before straightening them again. For a brief moment, he put pressure on the outside of the joint, as if trying to fold it in the wrong direction. He didn't push so much that it hurt, but even so, the suggestion of his palms against your elbows while his other hands kept your arms extended was unnerving.

"It's easier than having to stop every other moment to write my findings down."

"But..." He pushed your arms into your sides and held them there, then ran a set of hands down each leg instead. Pausing at your knees, he straightened both legs and strained the joint, once more stopping just short of harm. Satisfied, he put them back down, and rotated your ankles. You shifted nervously, and his grip tightened, the hand at your neck brushing up into your hair. "You can't...can you hear them?"

"Oh, yes. Of course I can. Why would I bother recording if I couldn't?" The movements continued, fingertips easing along your skin. On to your back and over your stomach. He kneaded into you, and you recognized the steady, methodic pattern. The last time he'd done this was when he was mapping your muscles. Inch by inch, he explored you, and watching the green flames dance within the confines of his sockets, it felt like he was doing so for the first time. But it couldn't be, the two of you had been working together for months, surly he knew your body almost as well as he knew his own by then?

"But I thought you were deaf...?" You murmured the words, heat crawling up to settle against your cheeks. Were you wrong all this time? No, you weren't. He never acknowledged you unless you had his attention first, he had to see your mouth move to understand what you were saying. You _knew_ he couldn't hear.

"Ah." He chuckled, a light, amused tone, as if you'd just told him a pun. "I understand. I was, human. But no more. I fixed it."

"Fixed it?"

He reached your face, trailed his fingers over your cheeks, your eyelids, your temples. "Yes. Ask me about it later, if you remember. I'm concentrating right now. Shh." With a finger put up to his teeth in warning, he pressed the record button. "The subject is warm to the touch, seeming to confirm that humans are indeed warm blooded. The bones under the flesh appear to be roughly the same shape as the skeleton species of monster. Whether or not they are of the same strength is yet unknown. Atop the skeletal structure are layers of flesh and muscle, as well as pockets of fat spread out throughout the body. They are confirmed to have a heart and a set of lungs, which leads me to suspect that they share the same organs found in the other flesh and blood organisms found in the underground, such as in birds and rodents."

Gaster took a step to the side, leaning over a bit to look at you from a different angle. The hand in your hair started to massage circles into your scalp, easy movements that were gentle compared to the tight grip he kept on the rest of your body. It reminded you of how an owner would soothe their pet when taking them in for shots.

"Their eyes face forward, as typically seen in predators, supporting my theory that humans are meat eaters. If you would open your mouth, human?"

Without waiting for a response or even giving you time to do as he'd asked, a pair of thumbs started pressing into the sides of your jaw. For a brief moment, you considered keeping your teeth locked, but thought better of it when he dug into the joints. You knew then that if you didn't open your mouth, he'd likely dislocate it to get inside.

He didn't use his transparent hands to examine your teeth. Instead, he slipped his real, bony fingers between your lips, trailing them from back to front. "Correction: Their mouth contains several incisors, for cutting. Canines, for tearing. And molars, for crushing. They are very likely an omnivorous species, able to ingest both plant and animal matter. There is a set of two mounds of flesh at the back of their throat..."

A shudder went through you as he touched your tonsils, the taste of dust and earth coating your tongue. With a small hum, he pinched one between his index and middle finger. With a squeak, you tried to pull away, the noise becoming a low gurgle as the muscles in your stomach contracted dangerously. Drool pooled in your mouth and dripped down your chin, the saliva building as he poked around the back of your throat.

"Contact with this area seems to stimulate a reflex. I will assume here this is the gag reflex, and continuing this course of action will result in the subject vomiting." He grabbed one of the larger plastic cups from under the counter, and brought it under your mouth. "I will use this opportunity to examine the contents of their stomach."

Eyes widening, you again tried to pull away, but his grip was firm. Back and fourth, he rubbed at your tonsils, then dipped down into your throat prodding at the flap of skin that separated the air tube from the one food went down. You struggled to breathe around his hand, lungs heaving like you were starting to suffocate. Again, the muscles in your stomach spasmed, bile burning the back of your throat. Finally, you gagged, going ridged as your half digested breakfast came up. You heaved several times, filling the cup almost all the way. Eggs, bacon, toast. Some fruit. You trembled weakly, nauseated, as he took the cup away and held it up to the light.

You blinked, and felt wetness drip down your cheeks. He was about to continue his recording, but you spoke up, your voice quiet and shaky. "I don't...I don't understand... you already learned all...all this stuff... why are you...?"

He was your friend. He'd never treated you like this before. Sure, he preformed experiments on you all the time, but never, _never_ like this.

"Ask me later." He said again, not looking away from the cup. "Subject-"

"Gaster, I-" You were cut off by a hand pressed into your mouth.

"Subject does indeed have an omnivorous diet. Unfortunately, the return trip could contaminate or otherwise alter the sample, thus there is no point in taking it with me." Said sample was tossed unceremoniously into the trash.

Another cup was pulled out and filled with water, which he offered once your mouth was uncovered. "Drink." he said. "It'll get rid of the acid."

You did so, if only because the taste was terrible. Once you were done, you tried again. "What's wrong? Please, this isn't like you. Did something happen?"

"I assure you, human, I am quite well." He brushed the side of your face with the same hand he'd stuffed down your throat, leaving a trail of spit behind on your cheek. "Such a caring subject. I do believe I should think myself lucky."

He laughed, but didn't seem to think you should be let in on the joke. Raising the recorder back to his teeth, he spoke.

"Due to time constrictions, I am forced to cut the physical exam short. I'll be moving on to the Determination experiment shortly."


	2. Determination

"Determination?" You repeated the word, staring at his back as his ghostly hands flew over to the counter. He set to gathering various chemicals you hadn't even known the office had, beakers of fluid that he mixed together with no effort, a solution he seemed to have created before.

He nodded, fiddling with the recorder, flipping it over and over absently with his real fingers. "Determination. A substance the human soul produces naturally. It's what lets your kind live on after death. I've been trying to perfect a synthetic version of it to give to monsters, to strengthen their souls so they, too, can survive the damage done to their bodies in battle. It hasn't been going well. The problem lies in the fact that I can't be sure if it's something wrong with the synthetic version, or if it's just that monsters aren't compatible with determination in the first place. With you here, I can answer that question once and for all. I'll give a monster some of your Determination..." He turned his head to look over his shoulder, meeting your gaze with a single green flame. "And I'll give you a dose of the synthetic."

You could feel the blood drain out of your face. "You'd experiment on other monsters?"

"It's for the greater good. So yes."

"And...what happens if...what happens if it's the synthetic one that's bad?"

He turned back to the counter. "I don't know what effect it would have on the human body. We'll find out together, firsthand. Think of it as a scientific discovery. You _do_ like science, I assume? Since you're here? Anything could happen. True, you could die, but maybe you won't. Maybe you'll be stronger. Or maybe you'll just turn into an Amalgamation."

"What's an A-Amalgamation?" You heard your voice crack, and for the first time, you strained against his hold. He soothed a hand through your hair and down the length of your spine, but it didn't help.

"It's what monsters turn into if they react poorly to the injection."

"It's what...? N-no. No, I don't...I don't want to do this."

"Oh my, you seem to be under the impression you have a choice. Let me make this clear then. You don't. My apologies."

"Gaster please. This-this isn't you! Don't hurt anyone. Please, don't."

The liquid in the vial had turned a dull off-white when he set his recorder down on the counter and turned his full attention back to you. One of the transparent green hands brought a him a syringe. "Unfortunately, harming others comes with the job title. For any scientific progress, a few lab rats must be forfeit."

He came toward you, and you couldn't move. The hands all around you were unrelenting, holding on tight so you couldn't so much as lean away from him. He reached for your chest, and you felt that tugging sensation as he pulled your soul free, an emptiness left behind in its wake. Your breath caught when you realized where that needle was going. You jerked against him, but he was stronger, holding you still as he regarded the light blue glow. "P-please don't, Gaster. Please..."

You knew how sensitive your soul was. Just to have it touched was almost overwhelming, and he was going to...

A set of hands started to massage your shoulders as he hovered the needle over the smooth, sleek surface. "Take a deep breath. You'll need it."

Ignoring your pleas, he pushed it in, and your mind went blank. You went rigid, a shriek piercing the air for a few, fleeting seconds, silenced the moment your lungs were empty. You sat there, icy shivers running over every inch of your body, zapping through your nerves like lightening. It struck you down to your core, deeper than simple touch ever had. You could feel it, the needle, drawing the liquid out of your center. You couldn't move, couldn't think, your eyes were wide open but sightless. It felt like he drank from you for an eternity, pulling you out bit by bit, yet somehow managing not to take enough to erase who you were completely.

It stopped all at once, your body going limp against the restraining hands that held you. It was all you could do to breathe, to force your lungs back into action, gulping down air as fast as you could, though it somehow wasn't enough. Distantly, you heard him hum to himself, heard the clink of glass on metal. You shuddered weakly, a harsh sting lingering over every inch of flesh, your skin tight and restrictive around you. Blinking, you tried to get your eyes to focus, to find him in the mess of white and grey that flickered over your vision. He'd put the syringe on the counter, and had taken another one. He was filling it with the liquid in the vial, your soul still hovering over his fingertips.

"Very good, human. We're already halfway done." He spoke encouragingly, as if that was supposed to help you feel any better.

"Gaster...Gaster stop..." You groaned at the way your head spun, the sound of your own voice loud and painful in your own ears. All too soon, he was bringing the needle close again, and you clenched your eyes shut. You weren't ready for another round, surly it would rip you apart, but he wasn't listening, he didn't care.

The door opened, and you both looked up.

"D-doctor Gas-Gaster. I was wonder-wondering w-what you wanted me to- me to do with the-" Alphys stopped in her tracks, eyes going to your position, bound upon the table, and then to the royal scientist, about to plunge into your soul a second time. "What's, um, what's going...?"

"Run, Alphys, just-just run!" You tried to warn her, but with a squeal, the lizard monster was flung into the room, the door slamming shut behind her.

"Doctor Alphys! What a pleasure to see you. You're just in time to assist me in my latest project." Before Alphys could right herself, she was dragged into the air again and shoved into the wall, held in place by yet more sets of transparent hands.

"W-what's- what's going on? I-I don't understand!" She squirmed, voice squeaking, clawing uselessly against his grip.

"Just give me a moment. I'll be right with you." He said.

"Why-why are you...?"

"Don't hurt her..." you gasped, "She didn't... do anything wrong, don't..."

But he ignored you both.

The needle went in, and once more, you screamed. He pushed the plunger down, and liquid heat filled every inch of your insides, licking up and down your veins like fire. This time, you were only still for a moment, and then you were writhing, twisting in vain against him. It felt like you were melting, burning away into ashes. The cries didn't stop, when your lungs emptied, you found it in yourself to take in a fresh breath of air.

Tears dripped down your cheeks, searing away at your skin and your eyes as they went.

 _"Fuck."_ It was the first thing you managed to say, a sharp edge lacing the word. Your fingers clenched into fists, shuddering against the metal table.

"How do you feel?" He stepped closer, attentive and eager. You met his gaze, panting, the sensation of sweat dripping down your neck and back. Everything felt like it was coated in flames.

 _"H-hurts."_ You were crying, you couldn't stop. The world was too bright, the pressure of his hands on you suddenly painful, your nerves crying out at the contact.

You caught sight of your soul. It wasn't blue anymore. It was bright, blood red.

"Interesting!" Gaster said, admiring the new glow. He grabbed at the recorder and spoke into it. "After an injection of synthetic Determination, the human's soul has grown much stronger. The effect appears to be a positive one, although the subject has-"

"Just stop!" You shoved against his hands, only to be pushed down onto your back against the table, a hand over your mouth. A muffled squeak told you Alphys had been similarly made to be quiet.

"The subject has complained of discomfort. Judging from the flushed skin, they appear to be suffering a fever, although I see no outward sign of damage. It is possible their soul is rejecting the solution, and this is an allergic reaction. Either they'll be able to accept the injection, or their body will be unable to cope. I'm not sure which. They aren't showing signs of becoming an Amalgamation, which appears to support my theory. I'll be proving it one way or the other when I give the monster specimen her dose."

He let go of both your mouths, and put your soul back inside you with a flick of his wrist. Then he took up the syringe with your Determination and started toward the other scientist.

"D-d-doctor! Doctor-what-what are you- you know what it- what it does to us!" She sounded close to tears herself. You lay where you were, eyes on the ceiling, trying to handle the sensation of the metal against your bare skin. It only made you burn more.

"On the contrary, I only know what synthetic Determination does to you."

"It-it's the-it's the same th-thing! I-I don't- I don't want to be- to be one of them, d-doctor!"

"Stay still, please..."

With a thud, the door slammed open. Alphys screamed, hitting the ground hard as the hands supporting her vanished. The ones pinning you down, too, disappeared, and you threw yourself off the table, hissing as every little brush against your skin sent a wave of fire through you. You heard the crunch of glass as the syringe shattered against the ground, a startled yelp from the skeleton as something you couldn't see shoved him away from you and Alphys.

In the doorway, standing tall, was Gaster. A clone, or a copy, the flames in his sockets emerald and crackling with rage. His lab coat was gone, and his undershirt was torn in several places.

"Let's cut to the chase." He snarled as he stalked forward, glaring the other Gaster down. "Bad doesn't even begin to describe the time you're going to have."


	3. Broken Bones

There was no where you could go, no position you could take that would stop the fire raging through your body. Your legs collapsed under your weight, and every inch of floor you came into contact with sent a blaze through your nerves. Gasping on the floor, your head spinning, you stared up at the two skeletons. Two of them, the same ones, a pair of Gasters. The one in the lab coat laughed, his eyes gleaming in amusement, while the other glared, the door slamming shut behind him.

"Well then." said the one who'd been experimenting on you. "I suppose I should give you credit, doctor. You managed to get back here much sooner than I expected."

"What exactly do you think you're doing in my lab, _Wingdings?_ "

"Just running some tests, what else does one do in a-" He was cut off as, once more, he was shoved by something unseen. Stumbling back, he caught himself on the wall.

"How dare you come here, and how dare you threaten _my_ colleagues?"

"No wonder you can't get anything done. You aren't willing to push any boundaries."

You could feel the crackle energy flaring through the air. Wingdings raised a hand, and a green flare of power rushed toward his counterpart. It didn't connect, blocked by some invisible shield. Something touched your arm, and you leapt away from it with a shriek.

Alphys stared at you with wide eyes, trembling like a leaf. "H-human, human we need- we need to-to go. R-right now."

You didn't move. You sat there, shaking on the floor, your vision falling in and out of focus. Whimpering, she reached for you again, and you were on your feet, retreating away from her into the corner.

"I'm-I'm not leaving you..." The lizard monster followed, trying to get close.

You felt your teeth part, clenching them together, a sharp growl bursting from your throat. She didn't have time to react before you shoved her into the table, hard enough to knock her back onto it. She squealed in pain and scrambled away as you pressed into the wall, a hand reaching to grasp at your chest, scrabbling over your heart. You dug your fingers in, a howl of your own coming at the contact. It was like touching an open wound, but you clawed anyway, desperate to relieve the pressure.

There was no reprieve, no end to it, just a sharp, white static screaming in your head.

A thud, Wingdings hit by a blast from Gaster. In a flurry of light and sound, the two exchanged blows, and you watched, your eyes on the one in the coat. This was his fault, he was the reason this was happening, he'd hurt you and he almost hurt Alphys.

He was trying to hurt Gaster.

It was hard to move, but you did. You dragged yourself forward until you were standing between them, a green flare of magic meant for Wingdings narrowly avoiding you.

"Human, what are you doing?" You could head the alarm in Gaster's voice, but you ignored it.

You walked toward Wingdings, fingers curling and uncurling reflexively.

"What _are_ you doing?" The scientist echoed his counterparts question, lacking the concern, voice laced with confusion instead. With a gasp, the green lights of his eyes narrowed, becoming tiny pinpricks. "I suggest you keep your distance, human."

You continued your advance. He threw a blast of power at you, and it hit you dead center. It was agonizing, but no more so than what you were already going through. With a snarl, you pulled your arm back, and punched him.

The sound of shattering bones rewarded the sharp contact between your fist and his ribcage. He screamed, crumpling to the ground with just one hit, arms wrapped around his broken chest. The lights blinked out altogether as he curled up, too engrossed in his own suffering to realize you'd lifted your fist again, this time taking aim for his skull.

A hand wrapped around your wrist, tugging you urgently back, "It's okay, he's down, there's no need to-"

Gaster broke off as you turned, your other hand wrapping tight around his arm. He was _in your way._ You squeezed. You squeezed hard, until the bone started to splinter under your grip. He cried out, his own eyes starting to shrink as Wingdings' had. For a moment, the two of you stared at each other, your nails digging into his arm, threatening to snap it in half.

He dropped to his knees, his flames returning to their normal orange and blue. The hand at your wrist let go, it was only you holding onto him now.

"Human, you..." His voice was strained, his wounded limb trembling under your grasp. "S-stop. Please."

You tightened your grip, the shards of bone cracking against each other. He hissed, his free hand clenched at his side. You growled. Wingdings hurt you, how could he defend him? He was in your way, they all were. All of them, they hurt you, you still had the scars from when they tried to tear you apart.

He kept speaking, low and quiet. "Listen to me, you're the strongest person in the room right now. Not just here. The entire lab. You could destroy everyone without trying. Remember...remember when I told you the difference in structure between a human soul and a monster soul? You're stronger than any monster. Please...spare us..."

Something in his arm popped, and he groaned, but made no move to pull away, or otherwise stop you by force.

"It's okay." He went on. "Everything's okay. You don't have to fight."

"He...he put..." Alphys started forward, freezing the moment Gaster waved her back. "Um...he...he put s-synthetic...d-determination. In...in their soul."

"...thank you, Dr. Alphys. If you would do me a favor? Take Wingdings out and put him down in the basement for now."

"But..."

"While you're at it, take everyone into the basement. Stay there until I come for you."

She whimpered, her eyes on you, nervous, not wanting to leave you alone with him. You didn't care. You heard her move behind you, lifting up the tall, quivering skeleton, and hurrying out the door. You didn't move.

You and Gaster stared at each other.

"There..." he said. "They're gone. It's just you and me. I won't hurt you. I won't touch you."

He didn't get a response. It'd be easy to cave his skull in. He'd turn to dust in your hands.

"I can help you. But you need to trust me. Can...can you do that for me, human? Trust- _ah!_ "

Just a little more. A little more pressure, and the bone would break completely in half. Teeth bared, you glared down at him, watching him struggle to maintain eye contact, to keep from curling in on himself.

"I can help...I can fix this. I-I promise you. Please...don't kill me, human."

You shuddered, a fresh set of tears building in your eyes. Kill him?

Kill...Gaster?

Slowly, your fingers loosened. Then they released him completely. His arm fell limp to his side, and he winced, but made no move to cradle the injury. You swayed on your feet for a moment, then sank to your knees, a sob shuddering through your chest.

"S...sorry..." you murmured.

"It's okay." he whispered back.


	4. Hurting

Neither of you moved. You both knelt on the floor, facing each other, his head a few inches above your own despite the fact he was slouching. Tears still dripped from your eyes, creeping down your cheeks in a hot and painful flood. Your chest heaved, lungs screaming for more air than they could take in, your head still spinning. You felt sick, feverish and nauseated. There were traces of blood in the splintered mess of his arm, and a dull ache in your palm where the sharp edges of bone cut into your flesh. You could barely feel it, the broken skin lost amid the fire in your nerves.

You sobbed, pressing a set of fingers to your mouth as you took in the damage. What had you done to him? Would it even heal? Was he going to lose the ability to move it? Was...was he going to turn into dust?

"I-I'm sorry..." Your voice cracked, shuddering as you gasped, your throat closing up on you. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. "I'm s-sssorry. Sorry. I'm..."

"It's okay. It's fine. Human, calm down, you're hyperventilating."

"I'm s-so sorry..." Over and over, you repeated it, the words pouring out until they caught in your throat, dissolving into whimpers, half formed repeats of the same phrase that wouldn't have been discernible if he hadn't already heard them several dozen times.

His fingers twitched, the barest motion of his hand, as if he wanted to reach for you, but thought better of it. "It's okay. Please, slow your breathing. Everything's going to be alright."

Gaster didn't get a reply. You just cried harder, the noises tearing through your skull like barbed wire, but you couldn't stop.

"I'm going to stand up now. I won't touch you. Alright? May I stand up?"

Again, you didn't answer, couldn't bring yourself to form the words, or even respond with a nod of your head. He took your silence as a yes, and very, very slowly, he pushed himself up to his feet. Just as careful, he stepped back, away from you, and went over to search through one of the cabinets. His arm hung limp at his side, and though he was quiet, you could hear him groan whenever he jostled it.

He pulled out a jar from one of the shelves. With one hand, he struggled to open the thing, trying to twist the top off with his fingers. When he couldn't, he addressed you again. "I'm going to use my magic to open this, then I'll stop. It'll only take a moment, and I won't bring it anywhere near you."

Your tears cut off with a hiss when you felt the subtle shift in the air, the brush of electricity streaking over you as a single, transparent hand appeared. It made quick work of the lid, placing it on the counter before vanishing again. You stared at him, shaking, eyes wide and glassy. He started to take a step toward you, stopping instantly when you scrambled back.

"Okay, that's fine." he said, leaning back against the counter, his fingers gripping the jar so hard they shook. "Take as long as you need."

You kept going despite his words, recoiling until your back hit the wall. A shriek tore itself from your throat, and you curled yourself around your legs, only for that to hurt just as bad. The scientist stayed where he was, watching as you clawed at your chest again, trying to dig through the flesh over your heart.

"This is an analgesic." He held up the jar, but you only caught the movement out of the corner of your eye. "It won't get rid of the Determination he gave you, but it'll make holding it more bearable."

"Get...get rid of it..." You forced yourself to stay still, trying not to move because it made it worse.

"...I can't hear what you're saying."

You looked at him. "Get rid of it."

"It'd involve putting another needle in your soul. I don't think that's the best course of action right now. My apologies."

"Take it _out!_ " You snarled, teeth gritting together. He flinched, cringing away, and your anger faded.

Another stretch of silence. He was the one to break it. "May I come closer?" He paused, waiting for an answer. "I'm not moving until you let me. May I come closer?"

You swallowed, eyes clenched shut. After several seconds, you nodded.

Step by step, he inched his way back to you. About half way there, you looked up at him again. He knelt down, on his knees, the jar placed in between the two of you.

He held up a hand, palm out, his mismatched eyes meeting your own. "This is meant for direct magical contact. It won't work if I just apply it to you skin, it has to be put directly on your soul. I can't promise there won't be discomfort, but I swear I'll be as gentle as possible."

You cringed away from him, squealing at the sensation of your back against the wall.

"I won't force you." he said, and he ducked his head down in a brief and failed attempt to make himself smaller than you. "But it'll help. Please let me help you. I understand your concerns, but...try not to be afraid. I won't hurt you. I can't hurt you. You're stronger than me. Do you understand?"

Your eyes flickered down to his arm, mangled under your grip. You did that to him. It was you. You hurt Gaster. He'd done so much for you and _you broke one of his limbs._

He was still trying to help you.

"W-why?" You shuddered with another sob, shaking your head, groaning as the motion made you dizzy.

"Humans are naturally stronger than monsters."

That wasn't the question you'd been asking, but the words needed to string together a sentence that he could understand refused to come. Instead, you mumbled, "No...no, I mean I...you... _why?_ "

"It'll make you feel better. Please, human. Trust me."

That wasn't the question you'd been asking either.

He raised his hand toward you, making sure you could see it inch closer to your chest. "May I?"

You nodded. Just a little. Just once.

"Alright. I'm going to take it out now." He pulled his hand away, and your soul followed. The empty feeling came, and you hugged your arms tight over your chest, the both of you looking at the floating heart. It was a vivid red, pulsing, and you could feel its warmth wash sickly over your skin.

He is focus went from your soul back to you. "Now I'm going to get some of the medication on my hand, and then I'm going to put some of it on you."

Without looking away, he reached down and gathered some of the cream. It was white, and had a thick, chemical smell. He made sure you could see every movement, even as he put his hand up, lingering for several seconds just beside the surface of the heart so you knew he was getting ready to touch it.

As careful as he was, you still screamed upon contact. It wasn't like before, when he first showed you your soul. Before, it felt good. It was intimate and comforting. Now it just hurt. Too sensitive and overly stimulated, you jerked back, knocking your head against the wall that you'd forgotten was there. He was slow, rubbing the cream in while trying not to produce friction at the same time.

It didn't take long for you to reach your breaking point.

His good arm was clenched in your hand before you realized what you were doing, your other at his shoulder, and you shoved until he fell back, legs twisted under him, though he made no attempt to right them. You pinned him to the ground, gripping too tight. The shirt offered little protection as you dug into his shoulder, and you could already feel the other arm starting to buckle.

You hovered over him. The heart still between the two of you, its glow dazzling your eyes as it blocked his face from view. You'd knocked into it when you lunged at him, the rush of sensation making every muscle inside of you seize up, dragging another cry of pain through your teeth.

With the exception of his trembling, he was very, very still under you, not fighting you at all even with your hands threatening to shatter more of his bones. He spoke, you could hear his voice, but he was so quiet you couldn't make out a word of it. Over compensating, he was trying so hard not to yell he wound up just barely whispering instead.

You didn't know how long you held him there. It could have been a few seconds, or it could have been a few minutes. All you knew was the realization of what was happening hit you hard, and the next moment you were off him, pressing yourself back into the wall with your hands pressed to your mouth.

The expected flood of pain didn't come. Everything still hurt, but there was no sharp burst of heat when you leaned back. The coating of anesthesia glistened wetly on the side of your soul.

With a groan, he pulled himself back onto his knees, careful to guide the heart away from him so it wasn't accidentally touched. The movement was semi clumsy, his hand shaking, and you could see the thin crack between the wrist and elbow joint.

He dipped his fingers back into the cream.

"A...a little more." He gasped, strained. His eyes were small, tiny dots in the sockets that made the shadows of his skull too deep. "It'll...be easier now, I t-think."

"S-stop. I-I didn't- s...sssstop. I h-hurt you..." You curled up, not noticing that he couldn't see your mouth.

He waited a few moments, seeming to brace himself before reaching for your soul again.

You squealed and curled tighter, wailing as he spread more onto you. He was right, it was easier, the numbness spreading out from his fingertips, a cool and almost icy sensation putting out the flames. Your screams tampered out, becoming whimpers, and then fell into silence. You couldn't feel it anymore. The pain was gone, even the cuts in your palms were numb.

Swallowing, you looked up to find him right there, staring at you. "A-are you...are you alright, h-human?"

"Gaster..." You breathed the name, gaze going from one of his arms to the other. The Determination was still uncomfortable, pressure wound tight inside of you like a spring, but at the very least you could focus your thoughts now. 

And what you focused on was the harm you'd caused.

"How do you f-feel...?" He pressed.

You ignored his attempts to ask about you. You didn't deserve his concern. With weak, tingling muscles, you forced yourself to move. Crawling on your hands and knees, you went up to him, grabbing some of the cream from the jar to wipe on his injures.

The scientist cringed as you silently drew close. You didn't ask if he was okay, because you knew for a fact he wasn't. 


	5. Blame

You started with the cracked arm, not daring to touch the shattered fragments on the other side yet. His gaze bore into you as you worked, and though you kept your head ducked down low, you could guess what his expression was in the way he shook under your hands. He was afraid. He was afraid of _you_ , and you couldn't blame him. Your skin crawled under the weight of your actions, made worse by the sickening pressure in your chest. Warm, salty drops trailed down your cheeks in a steady flow. It was amazing you still had anything left in you to cry, your eyes red and raw from all the tears you'd already shed.

With just your fingertips, you spread the analgesic over the wound as gingerly as you could. He'd fallen silent, neither of you saying a word as you tried to soothe the damage you'd done. In the quiet, you could hear your pulse roaring in your ears, too fast and much louder than it should have been.

When you were done with the crack, you reached up and tugged his shirt collar to one side, checking the area you'd dug your nails into. There were a few scrapes, barely noticeable unless you looked closely. They probably weren't enough to warrant a layer of numbing cream, but you applied some anyway.

Only one area left to treat. You bit your lip and gathered a good deal of the cream onto your hand, before turning attention to the broken arm. Hesitating, you hovered over it a moment, taking a breath to steel yourself. When you managed to make yourself touch it, he gasped in pain, and you winced.

"...sorry." you murmured, knowing he couldn't see your mouth like this. It wouldn't be enough, no matter how many times it poured from your lips, that one simple word would never be enough to make up for this. Trying not to hurt him further, you eased your way down his arm, trying to fill in all of the cracks and valleys as you went. The wound was all around the limb, deep enough you were sure that even the tiniest bit of pressure would snap it off.

He raised his other hand, and brushed his trembling fingers through your hair. You almost cringed away, but you didn't. You had to fix this first.

"...it's okay." he said.

You didn't respond. There was no point.

He trailed a path down your scalp to your neck, rubbing along the tensed muscles as if to help them relax. Despite your efforts to hold it back, the tiniest of sobs broke through, and while he wouldn't be able to hear it, he could definitely feel it in the shudder that accompanied the sound. He moved to your face then, wiping some of the wetness away.

"This...isn't your fault, h-human." He brushed back and fourth over your cheek with the side of his index finger, before opening his hand to cup your face, fingertips curled under your jawline in a way that was painfully familiar. You swallowed hard, focusing on your work as he continued talking. "The other Gaster...Wingdings...he's the reason this happened. You...you did nothing wrong."

You reached down to collect another handful of cream. You were applying more than was necessary, enough that it dripped down onto his shirt, but you wanted to be sure he couldn't feel even a twinge of pain. You knew it was working when the strain eased from his voice, his words coming out easier. You could hear a clinical undertone creep in as he went on.

"Determination is a volatile substance. There is a lot we still don't know about it, its abilities, its limits. From the few examples we've been able to work with, it seems to be produced in different amounts depending on the human. Some humans naturally have a lot of Determination. Some hardly have any. You fall somewhere in the middle, producing an average amount." He paused, waiting for a response of some kind. He got none.

You were about to grab more of the medicine for him, but he stopped you, letting go of your cheek to wrap his fingers around your own.

"Determination is strong, but it is not aligned with any moral. A human with high Determination could use it to do great things, but they could also use it to bring fourth chaos and destruction. It is neither good or evil, in the same way a scalpel isn't. It's a tool, developed by human evolution."

You shivered hard, another sob shuddering through you.

He pulled your hand up to rest it against his teeth, his thumb rubbing into your palm.

"We don't know what factors cause the varying levels of Determination in different humans. Possibly, it's genetic, though without multiple generations of them to study, we simply can't know. Now, we have developed a synthetic substance that is virtually indistinguishable from natural Determination. What he injected you with was no different than what your soul produces naturally. There are two issues here. First and foremost, he stuck needles into your soul, which as I'm sure you're aware, is highly sensitive. The needle prick wounds might be small, but direct damage like that can be agonizing. Secondly, he injected you with far more Determination than you're used to, enough to change its color from blue to red. Your soul doesn't know what to do with all of it. Add to the fact that you were afraid and angry... I don't have to explain what the result of that is."

He paused again. Waiting for you to respond. You gave a small shake of your head.

None of that excused what you did to Alphys or to him.

Gaster let out a small sigh, and nuzzled into the skin at the back of your hand, squeezing it lightly between his fingers.

"You were in pain, human. You lashed out. It is a natural, instinctive response, present in most every living creature. You are not at fault. My counterpart is. He hurt you deeply, and your response is understandable."

You shook your head harder.

"Human..."

"I almost killed you!" You finally lifted your head up, letting him see your mouth. "I almost _killed_ you, Gaster!"

"But you didn't. And I will heal, in time." He met your tear stained face evenly, speaking as calm as ever, but his eyes gave him away. Tiny pinpricks. And he was still shaking. "As will you. The Determination he injected you with will burn itself out. The pressure will relent, and you'll be blue again. Until then, we'll just keep you numb, and away from the other monsters."

"What about _you?_ What if I...? What if-what if that happens again?"

"So long as we keep your soul numb, it shouldn't happen again." He tucked your hand against his neck bones, just under his chin. "I'm going to have to ask you to be brave, and trust me. We can get through this."

"You should...you should g-go down into the basement. Until-until I'm..."

"I'm not going to leave you here alone."

"O-or just...just give me to A-As-"

He let go of your hand and pressed his own into your mouth, silencing you. The flames expanded at that, crackling, and you froze.

"We are not giving you to the king, human. Not for this, not for anything. I'll take you myself before I let him imprison you." He pulled his hand away, but continued, not giving you a chance to talk, "When Asgore kills a human, he takes their soul, and he stuffs it in a tiny glass case, where he keeps it trapped. Forever. The oldest has been stuck in there for five hundred years, completely isolated and unable to degrade. That isn't happening to you."

"W-why?" You recoiled, sitting back on your knees, staring wide eyed at him. His tone was laced with acid, and you realized he was angry. Actually angry.

"Because he's that special mix between cruel and cowardly, unable to bring himself to directly confront mankind but he just can't be content showing mercy to the innocent that fall in the underground. Every human that's come across his path has been captured and locked away and he's shown not the slightest hint he cares that what he's doing is wrong."

Gaster stopped. He put his hand on his head and huffed, the lights in his sockets going out for a moment. When they came back, they were wider, dimmer.

You didn't move. He met your gaze. "I won't let it happen. I won't. No matter what you've done, you don't deserve that. So please, don't ever suggest it again."

You nodded.

"Good. Now." He reached for your hand again and squeezed it. After a short pause, you squeezed back. "We're going to have to make some short term changes. You'll be confined to your room again. I'll be with you as much as possible. We'll keep you numb, and none of that is going to happen again. Both of us, we're going to be fine. Focusing on blame isn't going to help anyone, we need to move forward. If you won't do it for your own sake, then do it for mine."

"...okay." you whispered.

"Perfect." His eyes flickered weakly, an attempt at a smile, "Now that we've got that settled, if you could bring me my casting material? It should be in the third cupboard from the left."

You grabbed it for him, and with your help, he set to wrapping his arm up.


	6. Questions

"Dinner's ready, human." Gaster beamed at you as he closed the door, a large plate of spaghetti held in his one working hand. The both of you tried to ignore the sound of the key turning in the lock.

You were quick to bounce to your feet and take the plate from him. "Careful there. I got it."

You put the meal on the bed and sat next to it, the scientist sitting opposite you so the plate was between you and him. You took one fork, he took the other, and you ate.

True to his word, Gaster never left your side as the days passed. The only time you were alone was when he'd gone to tell Alphys and everyone else that it was safe to come out of the basement. Once all the scientists were back at their stations, Gaster came into your room, and there he stayed.

He hummed quietly into his fork. Holding the thing in his mouth, he reached out and touched your shoulder, trailing his fingertips down your arm before pulling away, grabbing another bite of food. He'd been doing that a lot since Wingdings preformed his little Determination experiment. Brief, friendly touches, always brushing a hand through your hair or touching his head to the side of your own. It wasn't really anything new, he'd always been fond of sharing physical contact. The first day you'd met him he'd put his hands around your face, a brief tug upward to inform you he needed you to look at him when you spoke.

The thing was, he was doing it so much more now. Maybe it was for your benefit, an attempt to assure you that you two were still friends, but at the same time, you couldn't help but think he was trying to reassure himself of the same thing.

He put a lot of effort into keeping your morale up, but you could see how strained he himself was. The skeleton was on edge, tense in the shoulders, always fiddling with his cast when he thought you weren't looking. If you touched him without warning, he flinched, his blue and orange flames shrinking for several minutes afterward.

The wounds you'd given him would heal, but it would take a while. He'd assured you several times that he wasn't going to loose the use of his arm permanently, but it was hard to believe him, considering how badly you'd shattered it. There were still scratches in your palm from where the fragments cut you, just deep enough to scar, to remind you what you did to him.

"After this, I think I'll apply some more of the analgesic to your soul." he said, and you nodded in agreement. It was faint, but you could feel the slightest bit of warmth pooling in your chest. You didn't want any of that disaster to happen again. Who knew if he'd survive another round with you.

A sickening knot twisted at your stomach, and you put the fork down, swallowing hard as your body threatened to reject what you were putting into it.

The silence was suffocating, thick in the air like it was a solid thing. He continued to eat for a few minutes more, and while he was trying to keep it casual, you could feel his gaze flicker back to you every so often.

With a sigh, he put his fork down and moved the plate onto the desk so he could sit next to you. The weight of his arm pressed into your shoulder as he leaned against you, his hand reaching down to wrap around one of yours.

You turned so he could see your mouth, but kept your head down. "I'm sorry..."

He touched his teeth to your forehead. "I don't blame you in the slightest."

You wanted to go back to the way it was before, when the two of you were close and happy and the biggest thing you had to worry about was whether or not you were good enough at sign language to try using it with him. Would you ever get a chance to do it now? He couldn't sign back to you, not unless he wanted to spell everything out with one hand. Even once he healed, would there be any point to telling him? You'd had this big plan where you were going to say you loved him in sign, but...

You'd be lucky if he ever managed to relax around you again.

Even if he did, it wouldn't be the same. He might be prepared to forgive you, but you weren't. You were a monster, and maybe it really would be better for him if you weren't there anymore. Where you intended to go, you had no idea. If you left the lab, you were probably going to die, unless you managed to stumble upon someone besides the scientist willing to hide a human away.

Like that was ever going to happen.

He pulled away and stood, moving to grab the bottle of cream off the bookcase where the two of you had been keeping it. You opened it for him, and he pulled your soul out with a flick of his wrist.

You shuddered and looked away, fever heat washing over your skin as the pulsing heart hovered over his fingertips. The edges held a bit of blue, but the center still glowed a bright, painful red. He reached down and gathered the cream, rubbing a generous amount over you. A squeal left your lips upon contact, you doubled over on yourself, griping at the cloth covering your chest.

It didn't hurt, but it wasn't pleasant either, the pressure coiling inside you at his touch. He worked quickly, but not quickly enough to keep you from writhing where you sat. The moment it was over, he put your soul back, and pulled you into a hug.

"Thank you," he said. "You're doing a fantastic job, you know."

He traced his hand up and down the length of you spine, and though you wanted to wrap your arms around him and hug him back, you were afraid of touching his cast.

"I'm proud of you, human." The words were murmured into your hair, his face nuzzled into the top of your head. He pulled back, nudged the area under your chin so you were looking up at him. "I've thought of a few experiments we could try once we're both up and about again. Your eyes, for instance. I've been watching how your pupils expand or contact in different levels of light, and I'd like to test out their limits, particularly when it comes to how well you can see in the dark."

"...okay..."

His flames brightened and sparked, and he found your hand, giving it a small squeeze. "I've also realized we never really focused on your sense of smell, either. We went over your biology and your physical capabilities, but we haven't begun to _touch_ upon your senses yet."

A strangled half laugh bubbled out, followed by the tiniest of smiles. "I _sense_ you're trying too hard with your puns there, Gaster."

"You're right, I must admit that my efforts are leaving a bad _taste_ in my mouth."

Another, quiet laugh from you both, short and half hearted.

"Speaking of senses." you said, "I...I have a question."

"Yes?"

You brushed your fingers over the joints in his own, quiet for several moments before you asked, "Why is it he can hear? He said he couldn't before, and now he can. He said to ask again later, but I think he was talking about you..."

"Ah." His eyes grew dim at that, and you almost regretted the question. Almost, but not quite. You wanted to know. He shifted, folding his legs under him on the bed, his expression solemn. "I wasn't always deaf, as I believe I've mentioned before. It was an accident I had during the early years of my career. I was working on a small scale model of the core, way back when I was first starting to draw its design, and the machine quite literally blew up in my face. The bust of magic and air tore apart the inside of my ears, and I haven't been able to hear since. It is actually possible for me to undo the damage done. It's a long, drawn out process, I won't bore you with the details, but the short of it is this: I would have to find another monster, take out the tubing of their ears, alter the magical frequency to match my own, and have one of my assistants surgically attach them to me. The donating monster would, of course, be rendered deaf in my place."

"Oh...that's..."

He nodded. "Horrible, isn't it? Even if I only took one set of tubing from a given monster, they'd be left deaf in one ear. There's no way around it. If I want to hear, I'd have to either take or dampen that same ability in someone else. So, I learned to live with it. Obviously, my counterpart did not."

"That explains a lot, actually..." So who was it that the other Gaster rendered deaf? "Um. I had another question."

"Ask me anything." His shoulders were tense. Like he was bracing himself.

"...What's an Amalgamation?"

"Of course." He breathed the words, glancing away, then back to you, his fingers flexing around yours. "Alphys told me he mentioned them. Very well...human, listen. Our kinds were at war for years before the barrier went up. There were casualties on both sides, but given the fact that monster souls are weaker...a lot of us were dying. We were doing quite a bit of research in Determination at the time, and the running theory was that, since it can keep the human soul alive after the body's been damaged, why couldn't it be used in the same way with monsters? In fact, why wouldn't it work better for monsters than for humans, since the monster soul is their body? It was thought of as a way to stave off death in its entirety. So..." he sighed. "We perfected a synthetic variant of human Determination, and we gave it to monsters who'd come home with mortal wounds in the hopes it would save them from turning to dust."

You swallowed hard. "It didn't work, did it?"

"Actually, it did. They didn't turn to dust. They melted."

"Oh, no..."

He nodded. "Those that wren't alone combined into a single being. Those that were, they simply melted and combined with the first monster they came across. They weren't solid anymore, but a liquid, their minds combining into one entity along with their body."

"So if Wingdinds had...injected Alphys..."

"She would have melted, too, and I would have been forced to isolate her so as to keep her from combining with anyone else."

A long silence passed between the two of you. He was the one to break it, his voice softening. "Please understand, we were only trying to help them. We didn't know."

His grip on your hand tightened slightly, and his eyes were so dim you could barely make out them out anymore. You shook your head, leaning forward to put your hands on his shoulders, trying to ignore the tiny wince. You didn't know what to say to that. So you didn't say anything. Instead, you pulled him into another hug.

He hugged you back.


	7. Sleepless

You could feel them, the hands wrapping around your limbs, refusing to let you move even an inch. Every time you thrashed against their grip, they only tightened further, pushing you against something hard. A wall. You couldn't see or feel anything but the hands and the flat surface at your back, but you knew you were on your feet. You stood with only a void below you, the shadows rising up the walls to envelope everything.

One of the hands curled into your throat, and a pare of emerald green flames sparkled in delight as they stared back at you.

You jerked awake, a gasp of breath bursting into your lungs as your eyes snapped open, taking in the darkness that surrounded you. A hand, one single hand, brushed your arm. Squealing, you jerked away, not realizing you were right on the edge of the bed. You hit the ground with a thud, the pain sharp in your hip, but you barely paid it any attention as you scrambled away, putting distance between you and the set of mismatched flames that stared out at you in the dark.

"Human?" Soft, questioning, and gentle as always. You heard him shift, saw him look away from you as he reached for the bedside lamp.

The light was blinding, and you shut your eyes against it, curling into a ball on the floor.

"Are you alright?"

You shook your head, not looking up at him, not saying a word. He was by your side a moment later, his one working arm wrapped around your shoulders, his weight pressed against your side. Shivering, you pressed your face into your arms. You scolded yourself, frustrated with the fact that he had to do this. He was the one with the broken bone, and he was the one who kept trying to comfort and support you.

"Why?" You finally asked the question. Your pulled your face free and looked up at him. "Why are you so nice to me?"

"Because I care about you." He said, without even the faintest of hesitation. His eyes lit up a bit, flickering bright and sincere. "You're my friend."

Hugging you close to him, he dipped his head down to nuzzle the side of your head. He waited for you to say something, but your response was only to lean into him a bit more.

"Do you wish to talk about it?"

You shook your head.

"Very well..." He rubbed up and down your arm, movements soft. "I think we should have a look at your soul. It's been a few hours...would you mind?"

"...okay."

The scientist got up long enough to grab the jar, and then he was sitting on the floor in front of you, waiting patiently. With a breath, you sat up, pulling your arms away from your chest so he had room.

Your soul was mostly blue again. The past several days had been a slow, creeping process of your natural color overtaking the red, and there was only a faint flare of it left in the center. You could see the delight in his eyes as he took it in, pleased with how much you'd improved. Indeed, you felt much better, the heat no longer building up inside you whenever the analgesic wore off.

He gathered some of the cream on his fingers once you'd opened the jar for him, and set to coating your floating heart. You braced yourself, but the moment contact was made, you seized up, muscles locking as he worked. With as much as he'd had to touch your soul, you had learned how to keep breathing during these moments, your chest heaving in deep, shaky breaths. Tiny noises, little whines came from your throat, quieter than the shrieks that had come from this before.

Cool tingles spider-webbed up and down your back, tentatively sparking through your limbs. As the pressure inside you eased, it started to feel good again.

By the time he was done, you were panting, shaking on the floor.

Once your soul was back in your chest and his arm was once more around your shoulders, his tone turned bright, enthusiastic. "I think it'll be safe for you to come back out soon. Tomorrow, even. You can see your friends again. We could even get back to our examinations, once you're feeling up for it, of course."

"Yeah..."

"Are you still tired? We could go back to bed."

"...no, thank you. You go. I... I think I'll read for a bit..."

"I can read to you, if you'd like?"

He's so kind and considerate, and you don't feel like you deserve him. The offer makes you want to cry, but you don't. You bite the emotion back and shake your head. "No, but... thank you, for the offer. You need to rest. I'll be okay, really."

"Alright. But wake me up if you need anything, okay?"

And watch him jump out of his skin when he opens his eyes to find you looking down on him... but you didn't point that out. You smiled, and nodded. "I will."

With one final, brush of bone against skin, he returned to the bed, laying on his back with the covers up to his chest. He draped his arm over his sockets, a way to block out the light so you could see.

You picked a book at random, settled down in the far corner of the room, and there you stayed the entire night. The clock ticked away the hours, though there was no sun or outside light source to truly separate night and day. It wasn't that you weren't tired. Your eyes burned, and more than once, you stifled a yawn with a hand. You just...couldn't be near him at the moment.

Truth be told, you didn't want to leave your room. You knew he'd never force you, but at the same time, you didn't want to worry him with your refusal to rejoin the rest of the lab. And he would worry, you knew him well enough to be sure of that. You were also sure that he himself wouldn't leave the room without you. Despite all the work that he was falling behind on as each day passed, he'd stay with you and do whatever he could to help.

Which was why you couldn't. You couldn't stay. You had to go out and get back to your life so he could get back to his own.

Around eight in the morning, you put your book away and went through your dresser, picking out a fresh pair of jeans and a thin shirt. Taking them to the small bathroom, you stepped into the shower and bathed, scrubbing your hair down within an inch of its life, followed by your face and arms, making sure to get every drop of sweat and grime off of you.

Clean and dressed, you went back into the room and lay down next to him, not really caring about the water in your hair. You weren't going to risk scaring him, he'd have to get up on his own.

But the loss of sleep and the comfort of the bed made your eyes feel heavier than ever, and before you knew it, you started to doze off.

His fingers brushing through your hair pulled you back, and you looked up at him.

"Human, are you sure it's best for you to be sleeping when you're wet like this?"

You gave a small, humorless laugh, and sat up, rubbing at one of your red, dry eyes. "Probably not." Then you forced a smile, "So, wanna go out, then?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know who we haven't seen in a while?  
> Wingdings.  
> We'll have to fix that won't we? :)


	8. Outside

It was very much like the first day you'd spent in the lab. All the monsters walked wide circles around you as you went by, the weight of their gaze heavy enough to be physical. You didn't hide behind Gaster as you did all those months ago. Instead, you walked at his side, your hands behind your back so your posture felt more open, and you met each nervous glance with a smile. You did your best to act as if nothing had happened in the hopes of putting everyone at ease. Many of these people were your friends. Or at least, they had been.

Gaster kept his hand on your shoulder as he led you down the hall, his touch light, reassuring, not offering protection, but support.

One by one, the two of you visited each of his projects. Alphys went along as well, updating Gaster of any changes that had taken place while he was gone. It was fascinating, enough to distract you from the discomforting air, if only for fleeting moments. He was working on genetically modified plant seeds, so as to grow fruit and vegetables underground without need for natural light. Moving platforms to make transportation easier, non-lethal defensive beams so as to keep those who might not have the best intentions from getting past, and...huge canons in the shape of skulls. Blasters meant to fire a powerful laser in the hopes of breaking down the barrier. Thus far, they hadn't worked, so he was trying to devise a way to make the things even stronger.

On top of his experiments, he also had to check the core. It was a long walk, the machine stationed at the very back of the lab, but you didn't mind. In fact, you were excited to see it. The invention Gaster was known for, the one that saved everyone when they were trapped down there without light or power.

The room it was in was huge, though it was more along the lines of a cavern. Technically, it put you outside the building, but it was closed off, a great hole in the rock to house the machine. Encircling a pit was a metal catwalk and a rail, and beneath the catwalk, all you saw was fire. Lava, rolling a good five miles under your feet like it was water. Heat singed your skin, to the point you were sure that if you stayed too long you'd get the equivalent of a sun burn.

Held up by metal bars, there was a large device, suspended at the center of the cavern, what looked to be a large pump descending down into the molten sea below. Another catwalk lead to a platform that circled the upper part of the machine, where you could see lights blinking even from this distance. A panel, you thought, to operate the thing directly. Attached to the top of the device were several wires that stretched all the way up to the ceiling of the cavern. Much like a beating heart, it took magic from deep within the Earth, and sent it throughout the entire Underground.

The sheer size of the machine was overwhelming, making you feel very small in comparison. You couldn't help but spare a glance at the skeleton, marveling that he was the reason why this was all here. No just the core, but everyone else, too. If it weren't for him, none of the monsters would have been able to survive their time trapped underground. Everything down there flourished as a direct result of his invention.

Sensing your gaze on him, he glanced back at you, his eyes bright. He'd been enjoying showing off his work to you, but this, for obvious reasons, was special.

"Would you like to see it up close?" he asked.

"I'd love to."

He took your hand and started across the bridge toward the machine, Alphys following close behind. The metal creaked under your weight, an unnerving sound, given the liquid fire under you. Despite the noise, it held firm, and the three of you stood at the center of the core. The panel went all the way around, but Gaster focused on one specific part.

"See this readout here? This is the temperature." he said, touching a thermometer, the needle hovering at one thousand, four hundred and fifty degrees. "Because of the location, the metal needs to be able to withstand quite a bit of heat. This is how hot the lower pump below us is. This..." He indicated another thermometer. "Is how hot the core's center is."

This one was much cooler, at five hundred and thirty degrees.

He went on, "The metal in the main core is much more delicate, and must be kept cool. There are fans installed to prevent overheating."

"You...you c-can hear t-them if you-if you listen." Alphts put in.

You nodded. So that's what that noise in the background was.

"Hmm." Almost absently, Gaster pushed a set of buttons. "It's not supposed to be any hotter than five hundred degrees. It seems one of the fans might be offline."

Alphys cringed. "I-I swear I've been-been keeping an e-eye on it. It was-it was n-normal this m-morning..."

He wasn't looking at her, nor did he seem to notice she was talking to him. His fingers moved with ease over the controls, typing faster with one hand faster than you could have with two. "I'll have it fixed here in a few minutes. I just need to reboot the system."

Alphys reached out to touch his arm, flinching away when he turned. "I-I'm sorry." she murmured.

He was quick to respond with a friendly pat on the head, expression bright. "It's fine, Dr. Alphys. You've done a fantastic job while I've been gone. Thank you for all of your hard work."

"Um...but I..."

His hand moved from her head to her shoulder, giving a small squeeze. "I couldn't have done it without you."

You moved away to give them what little privacy you could, walking along the platform so you could see the rest of the machine. Dials, buttons and panels, a few levers here and there, stuff you didn't recognize. As thrilled as you were to see it all, your found your arms crossing over your chest, a twinge of discomfort forming. You could feel yourself starting to sweat, and while you weren't too hot yet, the sensation was frighteningly close to the fever that had taken you over.

Their voices faded as you leaned over the rail, watching the magma rolling into the sides of the cavern. Beautiful, but lethal to the touch, the bright glowing red reminiscent of what your soul became.

A shudder went down your back, and you pulled away, dizzy, sick to your stomach.

"Hey...um..." You completed the circle and approached the taller scientist, getting his attention with a tap on the shoulder. "This is amazing, and thank you so much for showing me, but I think I need to go back and cool down. The heat...it's starting to get to me."

"Of course, I understand. I should have thought to bring water... Dr. Alphys, could you take them to get something to drink? I'll follow after once I'm finished here."

He gave you both brief, gentle pats on the arm before returning to his work.

You led the way back across the catwalk, thowing a glance Alphys' way. It was the first time you'd been alone with her since...

"Hey. So...I'm sorry, about before? I'm so sorry for pushing you."

"It's...i-it's okay. It...w-wasn't you, so..."

But it was. It was you. But you didn't argue the point with her. Once you were back in the building, you felt better, the air cool and pleasant against your skin. The first thing she did was take you over to a water cooler and fill a cup for you.

"Thank you." you said, grinning at her before downing the water. Your eyes flickered too the door leading to the core, taking a moment to consider your words before speaking. "I was wondering...what happened with him? Wingdings?"

"The um, the o-other Dr. Gaster is currently...c-currently...he's..."

"He's still here, isn't he?"

"Um..."

"Gaster stopped me from hurting him, so I can assume he wouldn't hurt him, either. I also can't see him sending him back to his own universe, not if that means putting the monsters in that universe in danger. So...are there any plans? Any idea of what you're going to do with him?"

"N...no. No plan. Just um...we're just gonna...k-keep him here."

"Where is he?"

"Are-are you sure you- I m-mean, I don't t-think I s-should tell you..." She looked down, letting out a small, nervous whine.

"It's okay. I'm not going to do anything." You raised your hands, palms out, even took a step back.

"T-then...then why d-do you want to...want to know?"

"To make sure he isn't going to be able to get out?"

"H-he won't. Dr...Dr. Gaster m-made sure the-the field was s-strong enough."

"Field?"

"Yeah. It um..." She made a gesture with her hand. "It keeps him...keeps him in. Like a s-small version of t-the barrier."

"I see. Did Gaster make it himself?"

"Of-of course. Why?"

"I feel better knowing he did it, is all." You worried at the inside of your cheek with your teeth. "You know, I haven't seen him summon extra hands in a while. I thought he might have been doing it for me, since it hurt at the time...but he still hasn't been doing it, and magic isn't bothering me anymore."

"His um...his injuries m-make it h-hard for him to...to use his m-magic."

"Then how did he summon the field?"

"He-he had help!" She brightened a bit, grinning, a shy and fragile pride flickering to life. "Some of the other m-monsters and I, we don- we donated some of our m-magic. He took it and- he took it and formed the field with it."

You nodded, "Okay, that makes sense."

Which meant you knew where he was. Or, at least, you had a strong hunch. Gaster hadn't left your side since the experiment on your soul...except to let the monsters out of the basement. The fact that it hadn't taken long at all and the fact that multiple monsters were involved suggested that Wingdings was probably still in the basement.

The door opened, and Gaster came out. The two of you turned to face him.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"Good, thank you." you answered with a smile.


	9. Confrontation

Another three days ticked by, and though you were once more allowed free reign of the lab in the daytime, you were never left alone for long. Gaster stuck by your side almost every moment, chattering endlessly about whatever came to mind. Sometimes he went on about his experiments, both passed and planned. He commented on every little observation, invited you to theorize with him, and even got you started on a project yourself with some flower seeds and different types of soil. The few times he wasn't nearby, Alphys was with you, tugging you off to her corner of the lab so she could show you her own work(and some anime if she happened to be on break).

You weren't even left alone in your room at night, as Gaster had taken to joining you once everything else was shut down.

It was somewhat suffocating, but you understood why he was doing it. Besides, you found yourself enjoying the his weight resting next to you on the bed, the feel of his hand around yours as you nodded off to sleep.

Your soul was once more the soft, gentle blue that it was before, without a trace of red left in it. The fact that you had completely healed from the incident and Gaster was still in a cast hadn't escaped your notice, but you tried not to focus on your guilt. For his sake, if nothing else.

You didn't bring up Wingdings again, although he rarely left your thoughts for long. If he really was in the basement, then he was probably still there, given Gaster's current state. You couldn't see anyone else trying to move him. That said, you were second guessing your plans. Maybe you shouldn't go down there. Maybe you should just let Gaster handle him.

At the same time, you were afraid of what might happen if Wingdings got out. What if he hurt someone else? It'd be easy enough, you'd managed to cave his rib cage in without trying. Would Gaster be able to forgive you if you...?

Would you be able to forgive yourself?

But that wasn't the point, was it? The point was you were the strongest thing in the lab. He'd said so himself. If you could prevent Wingdings from hurting any of your friends ever again, then why shouldn't you?

Not that you could do a thing with the other two monsters attached themselves to your hip. It wasn't that you weren't grateful for it, in fact, you loved them for it, Gaster and Alphys both. They were only worried for you. So you kept quiet, indulged them, and waited.

Your chance came during your fourth day out. The core was acting up again. Two more fans had gone out, the temperature raising up to five hundred sixty degrees. Gaster decided on a full system maintenance, and Alphys had to assist him. Unlike the reboot, it was going to take a good few hours before they'd be done.

You assured them both you'd be fine, you were going to take one of your books to the dining area and read while they were working. You gave them each a hug, and went on your way, heading for the basement. As you approached the door, you hesitated. You'd never actually been down there before, had only seen it in passing. It was one of the areas you weren't supposed to go.

No one tried to stop you, no one asked what you were doing. The few monsters that passed by didn't say a word, although you could feel their gazes bore into you. As much as you wanted to believe they were trusting you not to do anything, you could guess they were just too frightened to approach. Would they run to the head scientist, tell him where they saw you? Would he come marching down to catch you in the act?

He was so happy when he told you how he knew you hadn't killed anyone, that first time he showed your soul to you. He'd been thrilled to bits when you came to the lab without a speck of dust on you. What was he going to do once you were covered with it?

When there was no one around to actually see you go into the basement, you went through the door.

It was dark. Not too dark to see, but enough to put you even more on edge than you already were. You half expected someone to jump out at you, but nobody came. The halls were silent, empty, and there were a lot of them. You were careful to pay attention to where you were going, not wanting to get lost.

Nothing moved. There was no sound. The space around you pressed in, coiling about you like a snake, and though your heart hammered in your chest, you kept going.

Then...in the dead quiet, you heard something. Like footfalls on the ground. It stopped the moment you turned around to face it. You knew you hadn't imagined the noise, but you couldn't find the cause, either.

Shivering, you went on, your pace faster, and wondered if Wingdings had managed to get out of whatever prison Gaster made for him.

Your answer came less than five minutes later. Near one of the elevators(just how deep did the basement go?) you found it. A small room, cut off from the rest of the lab by a faintly glowing, transparent wall of energy. It was green, the same color as Gaster's magic. Beyond the barrier, sitting on the floor in a corner, was Wingdings.

His lab coat was torn, its remains sitting in a careless pile, along with his shirt. His ribs were bare, the broken shards wrapped tight with strips of fabric taken from the coat. As you drew closer, his dark sockets lit up, the flames bright and sparking. With the quietest groans of pain, he pulled himself to his feet, arms folding behind his back. "Hello there, human."

He greeted you pleasantly, nothing short of delighted.

You didn't answer, a hand raised to touch the field that separated the two of you. It was smooth, neither hot nor cold. You pulled away like it burned, your arms crossing over your chest.

"I didn't expect a visit from you. How have you been?"

"How do you think?" you snapped.

"Has your soul been bothering you?" he asked, his words coming out a little faster, "Have there been any changes since the injection? You don't appear to be in much pain."

"Why should I tell you anything?" With a breath, you reached out again, brushing fingertips against the magical barrier. If you applied a little pressure, you could feel it give to your touch. It wouldn't take much, you thought, to rip it down.

"Scientific knowledge. Aren't you curious to know what I've learned?"

"Not particularly."

"Then why are you here?"

Your teeth clamped down on your cheek, eyes looking past the green light to focus on his own.

He lost a bit of his spark, and his voice softened to a more even tone. "Ah. I see."

Your stomach clenched, and you couldn't hold his gaze. "You'll go after someone else if you get the chance."

"If that makes you feel better."

You pushed a little harder, fingers curling into the field, the thing bowing to your hand as if it were cloth. But you didn't pull it down. You held it there, just on the verge of tearing it. Wingdings just waited, patient, the air about him painfully familiar. You'd almost forgotten how much like Gaster he really was.

With a huff, you took your hand back. "Who was it?"

"Pardon me, human?"

"Your hearing. I asked the other Gaster how you could hear. Who's ear tubes did you take? Was it Alphys?"

"Oh my, no. Alphys is far too important to be sacrificed for such a thing. I took the ear tubes from one of my underlings. He wasn't necessary to any important development, I assure you. All he did was sleep and joke around."

"So you took them both from one person. You made someone deaf so you could hear."

"I did."

"You're selfish."

"I'm practical." He spread his arms out, palms forward. "It's both easier and faster to take notes vocally, as opposed to stopping every two minutes to write things down. I can get my experiments done faster, then either go over the notes myself when I have time, or otherwise assign someone else to the task. My experiments help every monster in the underground, it's in the best interest of everyone that I get them done quickly."

"Right, that 'for the greater good' crap you were giving me before."

"Indeed."

"If you're doing so much good over there then why did Gaster decide to keep you here?"

He shrugged, hands clasping politely in front of him now. "My counterpart doesn't seem to be able to focus on the bigger picture. He focuses on the one when he should be thinking about the many."

"And how exactly is _any_ of what you did to me helpful to anyone?"

He brightened. Just like Gaster, excited to share his knowledge. "I know for a fact now that the synthetic Determination is not harmful to humans, which suggests that Determination itself is bad for monsters, not just the synthetic version. Because we know that the compound is going to be harmful no matter what, we can shelve the experiment for good, as opposed to continuing in vain to find a way to make it work. We can move on to other things, and hopefully, find something that does work."

"Okay. Alright. Fine. But I have a question."

"Yes?"

"You come from an alternate universe. How the hell do you know your findings here reflect what goes on over there?"

A long, quiet moment.

"You didn't think of that, did you?" you accused. "You just jumped right into your experiments. You didn't even stop to consider what it was you were doing."

"Taking universal variances into account, I stand by what I said. It's highly unlikely the differences between our universes are enough that I would be unable to apply my research at home."

"Well, you're doing your world so much good while stuck over here, aren't you?"

The lights dimmed. Only for a second, but you caught it. Then they blazed, flickering and happy, just as they'd been when you walked in.

"You're not going to kill me." he said. "You're hesitating. You would have killed me already if you were going to."

"I won't give you the chance to hurt anyone else."

"Then why are you looking for reasons to inspire anger in both you and myself? You want me to lash out, you want an excuse. You don't want to kill me."

"I'm going to."

"You can't, unless you want to. Did he explain how monster souls work? You can't do much of anything to me without the intent driving your blows."

"I broke your rib cage."

"Yes. But that was over a week ago. Could you do it again now?"

"I-"

Something pressed into your back. You jumped, spinning around to face it, only to shriek when you saw the thing. It was huge, a many legged beast that towered over you. Its flesh was a pale white, bits of it dripping onto the ground, melting where it stood. Even as you watched, it dropped to the ground, its body oozing out into a puddle. In the middle of its face, there was a dark, gaping hole, and though it didn't have eyes, you could feel it watching you.

It whined, a painfully sharp screech, and you recoiled, stopping only when you felt the pressure of the barrier at your back. The thing followed, head down, staring up at you.

Behind you, Wingdings laughed. "I hope you like dogs, human."

You took off down the hall. The Amalgamation bounded after you, bigger, faster, the wet slap of its dripping paws hitting the ground filling your ears. It hit your back hard, and you toppled, its weight bearing down on your spine as something long and cold lapped at the back of your neck. You couldn't breathe, your lungs straining to expand but you didn't have the strength to pull the air in. The beast barked, rough and ragged, echoing, like several dogs calling out at once. Your head was spinning, you writhed under the thing as it clawed at your shoulder, another whine stabbing into you.

The focused pressure of its paw on your back faded as the Amalgamation again started to melt, it's body covering yours , providing just enough relief that you could take in a shallow gasp. Bracing yourself against the ground, you dragged yourself out from under it, quite a bit of its flesh coming off with you. The liquid clung to your skin and clothes, wriggling, living tissue that trembled with excitement as you scrambled away.

You turned to face it, panting, eyes wide as it again approached, belly to the ground. You knew better than to run by then.

He said it was a dog. This thing was a dog. It was a dog.

You reached out a hand to touch its head, whimpering in disgust when it enveloped you, like you were petting slime. The Amalgamation yipped happily, rolling over onto its back, seeping into the ground until you were pretty much scratching a puddle behind the ears.

Tentatively, you pulled away. It stayed where it was.

You wiped as much of the goop off of you as you could, but you couldn't get it all. It was still there, you could feel it, shifting as you moved.

You retreated again, slowly, waiting until you were away from it to start running again.


	10. Guilt

As soon as you were out of the basement, you ran to your room, turning the shower up as hot as you could tolerate before you tossed your clothes aside and stepped in. Tiny, disgusted noises left your throat as you felt bits of the Amalgamation wash away with the water. Were you hurting the creature by flushing parts of it down the drain? You didn't know. You hopped not. Even as you scrubbed every last inch of you clean of its wriggling goop, you hoped you weren't hurting it. The moment you couldn't feel it on you anymore, you grabbed your clothes from their pile on the floor and set the water on them, trying to flush every little seam in the vain hope that disposing of the evidence would somehow keep Gaster from finding out what you'd done.

It wasn't going to do any good, you'd already been seen by the basement door. While Gaster would doubtless believe you over Wingdings, there was no way your word would hold up against multiple monsters that he personally worked with. He was going to find out, and you hadn't even managed to do what you'd gone down there for. That jerk was still alive, you'd betrayed Gaster's trust and you'd done it for nothing.

What the hell were you doing? You'd already broken his rib cage! Why couldn't you just...finish it?

You were such an idiot.

Despite the heat of the water flowing over you, you shivered. You'd almost died. That dog could have smothered you. How would he have felt about that? Finding your body down where you weren't supposed to be after you promised him you'd be okay?

Once you had gone over your clothes several times over to make sure there wasn't a speck of dog left in them, you tossed them in the laundry and pulled on a fresh outfit, your movements harsh, angry with yourself. You couldn't even bring yourself to hit the bastard. Intention be damned, you should have at least been able to punch him. But you couldn't. You couldn't lay a finger on him.

It wasn't that you hadn't believed Gaster when he said the incident wasn't your fault. It was more along the lines that you felt he was excusing your behavior more than he should have because the two of you were friends. You were wrong.

Someone was going to tell him how wrong you were.

You grabbed a book, not bothering to look to see which one it was before you left for the dining area. Even though you felt like hiding alone in the corner, you wanted him to be able to find you when he came. So you picked a table in the middle, not bothering to grab yourself any food. You opened your book and made a half hearted attempt at reading.

People were staring at you. You ignored them. You were too wound up with your own problems to worry about them, anyway.

You read over the same paragraph several times over, and still had no idea what it said. Every second dragged on, and you kept glancing at the door. How long was it going to take? A couple hours had already come and gone, shouldn't they be done by now?

Maybe someone told them already, and they were trying to decide what to do with you?

What _would_ they do with you? Gaster wasn't going to throw you out, you didn't think. He'd said as much the other day, he wasn't going to risk Asgore getting his hands on you. Maybe he'd just lock you up in your room again, keep you confined so you couldn't pull crap like this anymore.

Would he keep testing on you? He wouldn't stop because of all of this, would he? No, that was silly. He wanted to know about you, punishing you by stopping the tests meant he'd be punishing himself, too.

Maybe...

You sighed and closed the book, resting the cover against your forehead.

Maybe your nerves were getting the best of you again. Maybe he'd forgive you, as he'd forgiven you for his broken arm. He was more understanding then you were giving him credit for. You swallowed, pushing the book into your face, the prickle of tears starting to burn at your eyes. You shut them tight.

You weren't on the surface anymore. These people weren't like your family, Gaster least of all. Why were you letting yourself act like he was going to turn on you at the drop of a hat? He'd never even raised his voice at you before.

This wasn't an accident, though. You'd deliberately gone down there, ready to kill a man that he'd risked his life to save. As much as he'd praised you for not hurting anyone, you knew for a fact that the prevention of violence was important to him. No matter what Wingdings did, murder wasn't the answer, not if it could be avoided.

Despite your frustration, you found yourself thankful that it hadn't worked. You were glad you couldn't find it in yourself to hurt him.

Even so, you shouldn't have tried in the first place.

A hand on your shoulder made you jump, the book clattering out of your hands as you looked up to see Alphys.

"H-hello...heh-hello, hu-human."

"Hi." you greeted, rubbing at your eyes before they could water any further. Your voice was tiny, you could hear the exhaustion that laced your words. "How's the core?"

"Oh! It's um. It's b-better now. We got the...the um...temper-temperature back to n-normal and everything." She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Doctor...d-doctor Gaster had some...some stuff, he needed to do."

"Okay...does that mean we get to see more anime?"

She brightened a bit at that. Grinning, she nodded. "I-if you-if you want to! That's um, that'd be nice." Her expression fell. "Oh, but uh...you...you...are you o-okay? Did-did you get anything to eat?"

You shrugged, standing, hugging the book to your chest. "I'm fine, thank you. Can we just...get out of here, please?"

"...okay..."

Together, the two of you made your way to her office.


	11. Dinner

After almost a full three hours of anime with Alphys went by with the speed of three full days. Try as you might to let the flashy shenanigans distract you from your worries, you simply couldn't shake them. You played it off, pretended nothing was wrong, but the lizard monster knew you better than that. She kept asking you if you were alright between episodes, if there was anything she could get you, anything you might want to talk about. As much as you appreciated her efforts, a part of you wished she'd leave you be and watch the show in silence. It wasn't fair to her, you knew, and you planned on finding a way to make up for it later, but for the moment you just wanted her to leave you alone.

When Gaster finally came for you, he greeted you with a kind tone and a brush of teeth over your temple. You knew it would have been a hug if he'd been able, but his hand was currently occupied with a paper bag. He gave Alphys a smile, thanked her for her hard work in the core earlier, and bit her a goodnight before leading you out of her office and toward your room.

You were just as quiet with him as you were with her, your eyes down on the floor, wincing whenever he _accidentally_ brushed his arm against yours as you walked.

"When my injuries are healed," he said, talking as the two of you walked, "I'm going to have to take a day and just focus all my attention on the core. Do a full inspection of it, just to make sure there isn't a problem with the system. The programming is fine now, but it's been a while since I've done physical maintenance on it."

"...speaking of, how are you, anyway?"

"Hmm?"

You repeated the question, making sure he could see your mouth this time.

"Ah! I'm fine. A bit sore, but really, I'm much better now. The bone is starting to mend. It'll take a few weeks more, but it's progressing well so far. How about you? How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay."

"Are you sure? You seem a bit disheartened today."

You bit your lip.

He was quick to follow up with, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. But I'm here to listen, whatever it is. You can talk to me about anything, human."

"I know..."

"Good! Here we go..." He paused at your door, then looked back at you. "Ah. Could you open this for me?"

You stepped ahead of him to open it, and he paused to nuzzle the side of your face before stepping through. He put the bag on the table and sat down, waiting for you. You gave the guard a friendly wave before stepping through, the familiar sound of a key in the lock behind you as you moved to sit yourself.

The moment he had you next to him, you were pulled in close, bony fingers brushing through your hair and massaging your scalp.

"I know I've been saying this a lot lately," he said. "And you're likely growing tired of hearing it. But human, everything's okay. We're still friends. We're always going to be friends. I realize it's hard not to worry about such things, but believe me when I say this."

You fidgeted with your sleeve, head down, staring at the floor. Now would be the time to tell him. Best to tell him before someone else did, right? But would he still be saying all this once he knew?

He shifted, pulling his hand away so he could wrap his fingers around the bone of your jaw, tugging you up to face him. The smooth surface of his forehead pressed into your own as he leaned in, the flames in his eyes filling your vision as he stared into your own. You could fee a faint warmth, not like true fire, but very similar to body heat. He hummed gently, his hand going back to entangle in your hair.

You swallowed, feeling your heart speed up in your chest. Your breath caught at the feel of teeth against your mouth, a flush of heat warming your cheeks.

He pulled away a moment later to curl around you, his broken arm between your chest and his own. After a moment, you returned the hug, leaning into him. You wanted to say it. You really, really just wanted to say it. That you loved him, to address the emotion directly rather than hint at it all the time. But you didn't think you could. Even before all this mess started you'd been putting it off.

With a deep breath, you pulled away, enough that he could see you, and you confessed.

"I went down into the basement and I talked to Wingdings. I was...going to do something stupid...but I couldn't, and I ran back up here. I'm sorry. I guess I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have gone down there and I...I sure as hell shouldn't have gone down there with those intentions, and I'm sorry."

His eyes grew...brighter? "It's okay, human. Thank you for telling me." He bumped his forehead against yours.

"Wait...what?" Just like that? No questions, no...not even a twitch of surprise?

"I forgive you." he said, tone bright. Pulling away, he grabbed the bag and handed it to you, "Now, why don't you eat something, since you missed dinner earlier?"

"How did you know I-?"

His arm went around your shoulders. "The moment I stepped out of the core, I had several very concerned monsters tell me that you went into the basement, and the next time they saw you, you were in the dining area and that you were refusing to order a thing."

"...oh...you, you knew already..."

He nodded. "And I want you to know that I'm very happy with you. I went down there myself, and not a single being has been harmed. Although I would ask you to avoid making another trip in the future. It isn't the safest of places."

This man would never cease to amaze you. "Okay...I-I won't. Thank you..."

"You're welcome. Now, please human." He prodded the bag in your hands. "Eat. I even got your favorite."

A small smile formed, your eyes lowered. "Thank you." you said again. Then you glanced up? "Share with me?"

"I'd be honored." 

Feeling much lighter, you pulled the box out of the bag, finding two forks and enough food for the both of you waiting within.


	12. Heat

It was the heat that woke you up. The air around you was thick with it, stiff and sweltering. Blinking your eyes open, you sat up, the sheets slick with your sweat to the point they clung to your skin. A hand clutched at your chest, half expecting to feel the screaming pressure from built up Determination flaring up under the skin...but no. Your soul felt fine. Normal. You didn't feel sick, either, so it couldn't be a natural fever. Then... was the room really this hot? You turned to the scientist sleeping beside you, reaching out to shake his shoulder.

"Gaster?" you murmured automatically. When he didn't move, you shook him a little harder. He gave a tiny moan, and shifted, the flames in his sockets blinking to life in the dark.

"Human? Oh...when did it get so warm in...?"

You reached over and flicked the light on, wincing as your eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness. He sat up, hand rubbing against his face. For a moment, sleep clouded his movements, making him sluggish. Then, all at once, he went ridged beside you.

"We need to move." he said, his voice sharpening with urgency. Grabbing his lab coat, he went for the door, knocking on it three times before pulling the coat on. You got up and followed, wanting to ask, but he wasn't looking at you.

The key turned in the lock, and the door opened, the guard standing on the other side.

"While I appreciate your consideration in not waking me up," Gaster said, and under his polite words you could hear the very slightest of edges, "I do ask that, when there are unexpected temperature changes, I am alerted to them as soon as possible. Thank you."

He started off at a brisk pace down the hall, and you followed after him. You tugged at his sleeve, trying to get his attention, but he just reached over to give your hand a comforting squeeze. "Have patience, human. I'll explain in a moment. I need to...excuse me?" He stopped and addressed one of the passing monsters. "Is Doctor Alphys in the core? Do you know?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, thank you."

He kept going, tugging you along with him. "She probably is." he murmured, more to himself than to you.

If the core was hot before, it was utterly searing now, a small noise of discomfort leaving you the moment the two of you entered the massive room. Indeed, you could see her, darting about the control panel as fast as she could, hitting buttons as she went. It was too quiet, the low hum that was supposed to be droning on in the background absent.

The bridge creaked as you made your way over to her. Alphys heard it, and whirled on Gaster, her eyes wide.

"I-I can't-I can't shut it down!" she said. "The fans are-the fans are off, and I can't-"

He raised a hand, quieting her, his eyes flickering toward the dial. Your gaze followed it, to see that the temperature was well past the five hundred mark, inching its way toward nine hundred. Not good.

"Human," He turned back to you, reaching for your hand. "I need you to go back to the guard and tell him to evacuate the lab."

"But..." You stared up at him, and he leaned his head down to nuzzle against your cheek.

"The core is overheating. We're going to try and get it shut down, but if we can't, I need to know everyone else is safe. You all have enough magic built up to last the underground a good few months. If the core undergoes a meltdown, the remaining scientists have time to come up with another solution." He nudged your back toward the catwalk. "Go, please. The other monsters will keep you hidden from Asgore until a new lab is built, if it comes to it."

You shook your head, grabbing his sleeve. "Gaster, I don't wanna leave you. Can-can I help?"

"Human, I love you." You froze at the words, his arm wrapping around you in a tight hug. "And that means I need you to be okay. Now, go. Tell the guard to evacuate, and follow them out."

He pulled away, waiting a moment for you to agree. "I-I l...I love you too."

"Human..."

"I'll. I..."

He brushed his fingers fondly over your cheek, then turned, putting his focus on the machine. Alphys was already there, and you were standing on the catwalk, shivering despite the heat. This couldn't be it. He could fix this, right? He could...

You took a step back, then another, before turning and bolting back across the catwalk. He could fix it if he had his magic. But he didn't. He didn't even have the use of both hands, because of what happened. The lab was going to-what, explode?- and he was going to still be in it, and you couldn't do anything but run away?

No, there had to be a way, there had to be! You couldn't just _leave_ him to die!

Out of the core, you picked your way back to the guard and delivered the message. "The core's going down. Gaster says you need to evacuate."

The guard himself took off the moment your words were out, and you were left standing there, in the middle of the hall, alone. All that self blame you'd been trying to keep at bay was coming back. This was your fault. You'd broken his arm, you were the reason he couldn't fix the core properly, you were...

Wingdings.

You ran for the basement.

Your footsteps echoed through the empty halls as you hurtled toward the back of the facility, toward the doppelgangers cell. You thought you saw the dog amalgamation peak its head out of a corner as you went by, but you didn't pay it any mind. Nearly falling flat on your face, you skid to a halt in front of the green barrier.

He sat against the wall, seeming to be asleep.

"Wingdings!"

"Hmm?" The orange and blue lights flickered to life. "Oh. Hello there human."

"We need your help."

"It seems so. A core meltdown, am I right? The air's a bit stiff down here." With a groan of pain, he pulled himself to his feet and came to meet you, hands behind his back. "So, what would you like me to do about it?"

"They're trying to shut the core down. You built the thing, you can help."

"Why should I?"

"You'll die if you don't."

"It's not like I'm doing much good stuck down here. Why should I be worried about my own demise?"

You paused. He waited. His eyes were bright, flickering, like he was laughing at you. "You..."

"I'm supposed to provide services only to be repaid by being locked right back up down here with no hope of escape. I really don't see what's in it for me, human."

"If the core goes down, thousands of monsters are going to be left down here to starve in the dark."

"And?"

" _And_ you were spouting off crap about the greater good and all that before. What, that doesn't count now?"

"Not my universe. Not my monsters."

"What do you _want_ , then? Freedom? I'm sure you and Gaster can work something out-"

"This is between you and me. Not me and my other. You can promise me anything from him and he can refuse when the time comes, What do you, specifically, offer me, human?"

"...what do you want?"

"I never got to do a proper examination of you. I never got to see the after effects of the Determination experiment, either."

Silence. "You...want do to the experiment again?"

"Of course, I'll prepare proper restraints this time, so no one is harmed. There will be no risk to anyone else. Nor to you, considering you already lived through it once."

"..."

"Do we have a deal?"

You looked back where you came. Every moment that went by brought potential meltdown closer. You couldn't afford to think about it for long.

Turning back to Wingdings, you reached out and grabbed the barrier, tearing the wall of energy down like it was made of paper. He stepped out once it dissipated, glancing around with an almost bored air.

"Alright then. Shall we?" Focusing back on you, he grabbed your wrist, and started toward the basement exit, his grip not harsh but tight enough to threaten becoming so if you tried to pull away. He half ran, forcing you to jog to keep up with his longer legs. "Do you know how hot the core's gotten?"

"Almost nine hundred when I saw it."

"I see."

Up the stairs, down the hall, retracing your steps to the core. The lab was empty, and you wondered if the evacuation was done already. Just as you reached the door, he stopped, and you found yourself pushed up against the wall. "What are you-?"

"For the record, human," he said, his tone lowering as he leaned in over you. "You are terrible at negotiations. First, you can't follow through on your promise to act as a test subject for me, because my counterpart will still say no and put an end to it. Second, there is nothing keeping me from taking you and fleeing back to my own universe, to leave those here to their own fate and preform tests on you on my own terms."

He let go, beaming as you pressed yourself into the wall, staring up at him.

He went on, "You're fortunate in that I can't simply stand by and let the entire Underground be destroyed. That said, I feel the need to point out again that the other Gaster should feel himself lucky."

"You're an asshole."

The scientist laughed. "No, I'm a skeleton, human."

A tremor went through the building, and you both went silent. He reached for the door, and opened it, motioning for you to follow, "Well, come on then." he said. "Before we go down in flames."

The two of you ran into the core room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The monsters will keep you hidden from Asgore until a new lab is built"  
> That hurt to write, considering.  
> Gaster honestly believes the scientists that work for him are that kind.


	13. The Core

You and Wingdings ran across the metal bridge, your footsteps clanging against the metal floor. Alphys heard it, looking up just as the two of you reached the walkway encircling the machine.

"H-human? What-what are you doing!?"

She cringed, taking a step back, her eyes wide on the skeleton standing next to you. It was a sudden enough movement to draw Gaster's attention, the man pausing, his hand hovering just a moment over a lever. Then he pulled it, shifting his attention back to his work. "Keep going, Doctor Alphys. There's no time for asking questions at the present."

"See how easy that was?" Wingdings said brightly. Another tremor went through the core, and you stumbled. The scientist steadied you with a hand around your upper arm, then with a sharp tug, pulled you around to the other end of the device. "See that there?" He pointed to one of the blinking lights on the panel.

"Yeah."

He grabbed your hand and directed it to a button, "If the blinks last longer than five seconds, push it. Hold it down for a count of three, then let go. Keep an eye on it, it's likely to happen more than once."

You nodded, and he moved on, circling to the other side by Gaster. Alphys was next to you, typing some sort of code on a keyboard. You kept your eyes on the light, watching it blink on and off with no noticeable pattern. Sweat dripped down your neck, the core's heat surging around you. No one spoke, there were no noises save for the sound of movement.

The light stayed on for six seconds. You pushed the button, one...two...three...and let go.

It blinked several times in rapid succession, went out for a moment, then returned to flashing without pattern.

The platform shook hard, and with a thud you and Alphys both hit the ground. It didn't seem to bother Gaster or Wingdings in the slightest. The metal scorched your skin, you cried out in pain as you scrambled back up to your feet. Burns spread across your arms and your cheek, but you ignored them as best you could. The light was still blinking erratically. Good.

Your lips parted, air rushing in and out through your mouth as you waited, trying not to let yourself think about what would happen if this wasn't enough. If the four of you couldn't shut the thing down, then this was it. The last moments of your life. You very well could die down here.

The light was on for seven seconds. You pushed the button. One...two...three.

Alphys went to the other side. Gaster took her place, reaching up to press buttons she couldn't have reached. Then he went by you, fingertips brushing over your shoulder briefly as he went.

Another tremble, but this time you kept yourself braced, ready for it when it came. Right after, the light went on for another seven seconds. You pushed the button. One...two...three.

The light went off altogether.

Before you could question it, Wingdings gabbed you again, tugging you along to another panel.

"If this one flashes, pull this lever."

Once more, he was gone.

You could hear the metal groan, echoing in the cavern until you had no clue where it was coming from. Was the core getting ready to come apart? Or was it just the catwalk expanding from the heat? You bit your inner cheek, worrying at the skin as you waited.

The room shook with more force than ever, you had to grab onto the panel to keep from falling over. Wingdings stumbled into the rail, and you felt your heart skip a beat as the thing gave slightly under his weight. He pulled back, and you caught him shiver before he turned back into the machine.

There was no surviving that sea of lava. If he'd fallen...

The light went off, and you pulled the lever.

This seemed to make several other lights on the machine blink off, though the other three didn't pause in their movements. None of them elected to give you another task, so you stood there, trying to stay out of the way without drawing too close to the rail.

More lights blinked off. Then more still.

Finally, they were all out, and all at once, activity stopped. The scientists stopped darting about, just stood there for a long moment, looking at the machine.

"Did...d-did we do it?" Alphys asked quietly.

"It's offline." Wingdings confirmed.

Gaster gave his duplicate a long, hard look...then he rounded on you. You winced, taking half a step back, eyes lowered. You waited for him to get upset...but he just let out a sigh, his hand raised to rest on the top of your head.

"I'll say right now that I don't approve in the slightest of your methods. Freeing him was very reckless behavior, but I can not in good conscience be cross with you when your actions led to the continued existence of both my life and the lives of thousands of others. Thank you, human."

Wingdings laughed, and Alphys jerked away from him with a squeak. His eyes sparking, he spoke up. "Don't believe a word of it, human. He actually is angry with you. He's just being diplomatic."

You winced, and Gaster's own eyes constricted into smaller, harsher pin pricks. He turned away to face Wingdings. "While I am grateful for your assistance, I am not going to allow you to bully my colleagues."

"You have no idea what I just said and you're scolding me. What if I said something pleasant?"

"The human wouldn't have reacted that way if you had."

"Okay. Okay..." you stepped between them, facing Gaster so he could see you, your back to Wingings. "Let's fight later, when we're not standing above a pit of fire."

Gaster glanced from you to Wingdings and back again. Finally, he stepped away. "Very well. But keep in mind we're going to have a long talk about what we're going to do with you."

Wingdings folded his hands politely behind his back. "Do I get to go home, by any chance?"

"We'll see."

Gaster started to walk toward the catwalk connecting the platform to the other side of the cavern. Turning your head toward it, you noticed something seemed...off. The bridge was crooked, just slightly. Was it always like that?

A shiver went down your back. No, no it wasn't.

"Gaster!"

He didn't hear you, of course. You darted forward, fingers wrapping around the back of his shirt just as his foot hit the metal of the bridge. With a shriek and a grown, the thing snapped, the entire catwalk breaking apart from the platform to tumble down into the lava. You wrapped your arm around his chest, scrabbling awkwardly over his injured arm, your heels digging into the floor of the platform as you pulled him back away from the edge.

You were both on the floor, sitting in stunned silence before the heat from the metal started to burn you through your clothes.

"Well. That would have been rather unfortunate." Wingdings mused as you and Gaster stood upright, you wincing and rubbing at your singed rear.

"I-I'm gonna...I'm gonna c-call for help..." Alphys murmured, reaching into her pocket for her phone.

"Take your time. If we wait a few hours, we'll get to study the process of human dehydration."

You were glad Gaster happened to be looking away at that moment, because you were sure if he knew what'd been said, he'd have thrown Wingdings into the core himself.


	14. Farewell

Even with the fleet of scientists flooding over the catwalk, it took a few hours for them to construct another bridge that could hold everyone's weight. The heat of the core left you dizzy and weak, struggling across to the other side with Wingdings and Alphys holding onto each arm. Gaster followed behind, his hand on your shoulder, offering what support he could. Wingdings chuckled low in his throat when, even with their help, you stumbled on your way out. You murmured some half formed insult that faded into silence the moment the cool air hit you. After all that time spent burning above a pit of lava, you knew full well you were dehydrated. Close to a heat stroke, as Wingdings commented cheerfully at one point.

"Dr. Alphys, if you could bring back some water, please?" Gaster asked once you were sat down against the wall, a shiver running through you at the temperature change. It felt wonderful, your eyes drifting shut, breathing through parted, chapped lips. All you wanted to do was fall asleep. Which you did, because the next thing you know the head scientist was shaking you awake.

"Mmm..." You gave a tiny moan, looking up, the glass of water little more than a blur in front of you. Gaster took it from Alphys and tipped the edge against your mouth.

"Slowly," he cautioned, watching you drink, making sure you didn't overdo it.

Emptying the glass, you leaned back into the wall. Gaster suggested maybe you'd be more comfortable on a bed, but you were so tired you couldn't bring yourself to move. The space between the outside of the core and your room felt as far and unreachable as the moon. At Gaster's request, Alphys left to get repairs started, leaving you with the two monsters to keep you company.

"You know, if my chest wasn't in pieces, I'd be able to carry you." Wingdings commented.

"Hush." was Gaster's reply.

You would have smacked the skeleton's counterpart if you could muster up the strength to raise your arm. Just as well. You couldn't accidentally break something that way. With a sigh, you leaned on Gaster's shoulder, and let yourself nod off. The last thing that registered was the sensation of thin, bony fingers wrapping around your own.

You never went under deeply enough to dream. It couldn't have been more than an hour or two by the time you woke up.

They were both dozing themselves, sitting on either side of you. Stirring, you detached yourself and went to closest sink to down some more water. Gaster's warning of 'slowly' forgotten after your rest, and besides, the water felt fantastic going down your dry throat. You let out a sigh, wiped your mouth with your shirt sleeve, wincing at the burns on your arms. They weren't too bad, considering, but they were sore to the touch. So when a hand reached out from behind you to prod at the wound, it didn't feel good in the slightest.

Squealing, you pulled away, whirling to direct a glare up at the grinning skull. The lights sparked with delight as they stared back at you.

"Feeling better, I take?" Without asking, he snatched at your wrist and pulled your arm out, examining your burn. Fingers hovered over the area for a moment, before lowering to touch the skin. You flinched...but he was reasonably delicate this time. It stung, but it was bearable. "As much as I'd like to stick around and watch this heal, I'm afraid my presence here is coming to a close. Preferably while Mr. Safe Science over there's not awake enough to fuss over how I'm a danger to my own kind."

You frowned at him, "If you think I'm just letting you sneak out here..."

"That thing I said about dragging you with me. I hope you're aware I can still do that."

"If you were going to do it, you would have done it already. And besides, there are a hundred monsters that would stop you. The lab isn't empty anymore."

He laughed. "I suppose I can't use the same bluff twice. No chance of convincing you that you could say I was gone when you got up?"

"I'm _not_ lying to him."

"Alright, alright. I'll do this properly." He sounded annoyed, but was back to his pleasant manner again in the next moment. "Well, come on, then."

You very pointedly pulled your wrist free when he tried to lead you back to Gaster. What was it with him and wanting to pull you everywhere? Insistent on waking him yourself, you sat in front of him and brushed your fingers along the edge of his cheekbone. The lights in his eyes flickered to life, sparking when he saw it was you. His own hand raised, curling about your lower jaw.

"How are you doing? Would you like more water?"

"I'm okay."

Wingdings sat next to you, legs folded neatly under him. "Alright. Human insisted I play nice. So, I'm playing nice. I want to go home now. As much fun as I've had here being locked in a cell, I really can't stay."

Gaster's eyes dimmed. "I said we'd talk about it."

"Well, we're talking about it, aren't we?"

You looked from one to the other, leaning your head on your palm. Wingding's own eyes, for the first time since you'd met him, dimmed themselves. That bright spark faded, replaced with something serious and worried.

Gaster sighed. "...I suppose we are. I'm listening."

"I'll get to the point. Our universes differ in several areas, this is true. There are also several areas in which they're the same. I have my own core, for example. And if this one overheated, there's a chance mine's well on it's way to following suit. I want to go back and get it shut down, give it a through once over. Replace the catwalk while I'm at it, considering what happened to the one here. Rather not go spiraling into the core if I can help it."

"...I can understand that. Very well. You may go back. However, I'm destroying the multi-universe machine once you go. I'm not risking you coming back with an army."

"Fair enough. I can live with that."

Gaster stood, and both you and Wingdings followed. The later took the lead, his gait casual, but by no means slow. Gaster intertwined his fingers with your own, thumb bushing along the side of your hand. With a tired smile, you leaned into him. After this, all you wanted was a proper night of sleep.

The machine composed of two metal poles that reached up toward the ceiling, connected by wiring to a large computer panel. With a few button presses, a blue energy formed between the poles, buzzing as if electrified. With a huff, Wingdings turned to the two of you, orange and blue lights crackling. "It's been a pleasure."

"I'm afraid I can't say the same, but I wish you luck regardless." Gaster said.

"Same." you agreed. "Thank you for helping with the core."

"Yes...thank you for assisting us in shutting the core down."

Wingdings laughed and waved you both off. "At least you didn't leave me to explode by myself. That comment is specifically for the human, considering how my _generous_ other evacuated everyone but me. Oh, and the amalgamations. Can't forget them. Oh well. Thank you, human. Maybe I'll find your other over there one day."

"Get going before I change my mind in letting you go." Gaster's voice hardened.

Wingdings shrugged. "Farewell, then."

The moment he was through the portal, Gaster shut it down and snapped the set of wires connecting the machine to the panel.

"I'm glad that's over." You said, waiting until her turned to speak. "Are you okay?"

His fingers curled about your jaw, leaning forward to nuzzle his teeth into your cheek. "Yes. I'm more worried about you, though. Are you alright, human?"

"I will be, I think. Hey...Gaster?"

"Hmm?"

"...I love you."

"I love you too, human."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there everyone! Sorry this last chapter took me so long to get written. Got the worst case of writers block that lasted ages.  
> Thank you all for every single comment and kudo's this story's received. Hope it was as fun to read as it was for me to write. ^^   
> Hope you all have a good day!


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